Cinch winch for saddling a horse

ABSTRACT

A device facilitates the saddling of a horse and makes it more flexible insofar as the fastening between the rigging ring positioned on the saddle and the cinch or cinch strap which engages the under belly of the horse is concerned. A rotary winch equipped with protruding teeth is positioned in a suitable housing holding a belt, one end of which passes through the rigging ring and the other end is permanently fastened to the housing. The protruding teeth in the winch roller engage holes positioned along the length of the belt. A suitable wrench permits rotating of the roller or winch thereby effecting tightening of the belt which may be held in any given position or released therefrom by a suitable latch and release mechanism.

United States Patent 1191 Morrison 5] Jan. 21, 19 75 CINCH WINCH FORSADDLlNG A HORSE [76] Inventor: Neolan V. Morrison, 326 Addison f'Pest-lock St, Palo Alto, Calm 94301 ASSISIZUII Examiner-J. Q. Lever [22]Filed. Dec. 10, 1973 ABSTRACT I I [21] Appl' 423301 'A devicefacilitates the saddling of a horse and makes it more flexibleinsofar asthe fastening between the y [52] US. Cl. 54/23, 24/164 rigging ringpositioned on the saddle and the cinch or [51] Int. Cl. B68c 1/00 cinchstrap which engages the under belly of the horse [58] Field of Search54/23, 46; 24/269, 170, is concerned. A rotary winch equipped withprotrud- 24/188, 168, 165, 164, 178 R ing teeth is positioned in asuitable housing holding a I belt, one end of which passes through therigging ring [56] References Cited and the other end is permanentlyfastened to the hous- UNITED STATES PATENTS ing. The protruding teeth inthe winch roller engage 244 624 7/1881 Lancaster et al. 54/23 holesposimmed alpng the length of the belt A 256:271 4/1882 Bassett 24 164able wrench Permns mating roller or 438,477 10/1890 Hartmann 54 23thereby effecting tightening of the which y be 1,117,416 11/1914 McKelvy24/165 held in y given Position of released therefrom by a 2,804,7429/1957 Ray 54/46 7 suitable latch and release mechanism. 2,867,876l/l959 Elsner et al 24/168 3,641,739 2/1972 Stubben 54/46 3 Claims, 4Drawing Flgures PATENTEDJAN21I975 V 3.861.126

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sum 20F 2 FIG. 3.

FIG. 3A my CINCH WINCH FOR SADDLING A HORSE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFor generations one of the important steps in saddling of a horsecomprised the operation of fastening of the saddle to the horse througha cinch strap engaging the horses under belly by means of an additionalleather strap known as the latigo strap which was tied to the saddlerigging ring and then threaded through the cinch ring a couple of times.After this a latigo knot was made. This strap engaged a ring known as acinch ring which was connected to and formed a part of the cinch orcinch strap passing under the belly of the horse. The other end of thestrap passed through a ring which was fixedly positioned on the saddleand made secure by means of a knot tied in the strap which was known asa latigo knot. In the usual saddle arrangement this knot was locatedunder the stirrup leather where it was rather bulky and sometimesinterfered with the stirrup itself. In any event, it was a cumbersomeoperation to tie this knot and did not permit any flexibility once itwas tied and while the rider was on the horse.

Applicant is not aware at this time of any device or other means ofperforming this operation and saddling a horse other than the onedescribed above which has been used from time immemorial.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I have discovered that by use of the device ofmy invention I am able to overcome all the disadvantages of the oldmethod of saddling.

I provide a housing in which is located a roller or rotating winch, thehousing being adapted for positioning against the side of the hor'sesbody. On the lower end of the housing I provide a hook which engages theconventional cinch ring which in turn is permanently connected to thestrap passing under the horses belly. At the upper end of my housing Iprovide means for permanently fastening one end of a strap. I then passmy strap through a more or less conventional saddle ring located on thesaddle itself, double it back and then pass it back down to the housingagain where it is disposed to engage my winch or roller. The strap isequipped with suitably spaced holes along its entire length which are inturn disposed to engage protruding teeth in the roller, means beingprovided to guide the strap over the roller to insure positiveengagement between the strap and the roller teeth. I provide a portablewrench which may be of the socket or other type to permit rotating ofthe roller and causing the teeth to tighten or loosen my strap. A noveldog or latch arrangement is positioned to engage the teeth and hold themin any given positioned as desired. A release mechanism is positioned inthe housing to release my dog or latch at any time it is so desired andpermit adjusting the strap and consequently the entire saddle assemblyin a tighter or looser relationship with the horse as is desired.

My combination makes the saddling assembly stronger and more secure. Itmay be tightened and fastened while the person is mounted and isespecially convenient for young riders, as well as the old andhandicapped, to tighten and maintain a desired tension adding greatly tothe safety of the saddle. It likewise elimi nates the bulky latigo knotunder the stirrup leather and is easy to change from one saddle toanother. Be-

cause of its simplicity and flexibility it will outlast several latigos,making it cheaper in the long run.

Of particular advantage is the feature which permits changing the amountof tension on the horse while riding, since it is well known toexperienced riders that the horse may expand or contract its musclesdepending on the riding, strain, temperature, and so on, all of whichmay be compensated for while the rider is mounted and withoutdismounting and retying the latigo knot.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a general assembly showing theposition and relationship of my device to a horse and saddle.

FIG. 2 is a cross section along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 3 showing theinternal arrangement of the mechanism of my invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective showing the general assembly of my inventionwith all the component parts."

FIG. 3A shows one type of wrench which may be used with my invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings andparticularly first to FIG. 1 there is shown first a horse 1 and a saddle2 which may be of any type in common use. The saddle is equipped withstirrups 3 and has positioned upon it saddle ring 4.

My strap or belt 5 has one end fixedly positioned on housing 6 and theother end passing through saddle ring 4 and returning back throughhousing 6 where it cngages my winch mechanism as described below andthen passes out through the housing and has a loose end Referring againmore particularly now to FIG. 3, my I strap 5 is seen to pass under pin21 located in housing 6 and thence to engage the teeth 22 in my rolleror winch 7. The socket 23 is provided to permit engagement by a suitablewrench shown in perspective in FIG. 3A to permit rotation of drum 7 asneeded and which may be located in a saddle bag or suitable receptaclefor convenient access by the rider.

My strap or belt 5 is equipped with holes or perforations 24 positionedalong its length and disposed to engage with the teeth 22 of roller 7.After passing through teeth 22 my strap 5 hangs loosely below housing 6as shown at 25.

To insure the retention of my cinch ring 9 inside of hook 8 I may employa spring 26 which may be of a conventional leaf type easily released andsnapped into position.

The relationships between the components of my mechanism may beunderstood better by reference to FIG. 2 as well as FIG. 3. To maintainthe roller 7 in any given position and consequently any degree oftension in belt 5 I utilize a dog or latch 27 mounted on a pin 28. Thisis disposed to engage the teeth 22 when in a horizontal position but maybe disengaged by movement of release 29 to a lower position permittingfree rotation of roller 7. My roller dog or latch 27 may be springactivated, thereby maintaining constant tension against latch release29.

I enclose my housing 6 with an easily removable cover plate 30, havingholes 31 adapted for mating with holes 32 in my housing 6 and being heldin position by a pin 33.

OPERATION The operation of my device should now be evident to thoseskilled in the art but a brief description for purposes of clarificationfollows.

After the saddle 2 is placed on the horse 1, I bring my device intoposition by engaging hook 8 with cinch ring 9 and passing my strap orbelt through saddle ring 4 and thence downward back into housing 6underneath pin 21 and around roller 7 engaging holes 24 with teeth 22.At this point roller dog or latch 27 engages teeth 22 as shown. Thisoperation is performed only once unless cinch winch is to be used onanother saddle.

By means of the wrench shown on FIG. 3A I may rotate roller 7 and assuccessive series of teeth 22 act on holes 24, I produce an increasedtension on my strap 5 which in turn is held in any desired position oftension by the action oflatch 27 on teeth 22. In the event I haveproduced too great a tension I am able to release it by merelydepressing latch release 29 and rotating roller 7 in the oppositedirection until the desired amount of tension is obtained. This featureis especially important since not only do individual horses vary a greatdeal in the amount of tension that is desired on belt 10, but after aperiod of riding, the same horse may require loosening or tightening ofthe strap which of course, may be easily effected in the mannerdescribed above while the rider is still in position in the saddle 2.

I have shown my device on the left hand side of the horse 1 but ofcourse, it may be positioned on either side of the horses body asdesired, the same construction and principles of operation beingemployed.

I may fabricate my device out of any suitable materials. For example, mystrap 5 may be leather but I may also use various plastic materials ifdesired. My housing 6 is usually made of metal which may be stainlesssteel or other metals, but it likewise is adapted for manufacture out ofplastics as are all of the other component parts.

I am not limited to the type of wrench shown in FIG. 3A but may utilizeany other type of wrench or key mechanism of conventional constructionto effect rotation of my roller 7. When not in use, my wrench may bepositioned in a saddle bag or other receptacle forming a part of thesaddle equipment.

I claim: 1. A device for use in positioning a saddle on a horsecomprising:

a housing positioned on one side of the body of said horse adjacent tosaid saddle;

a longitudinal strap, the first end of which is fixedly positioned on afirst end of said housing and the second end of which is disposed forfreely passing through a second end of said housing;

said strap being further disposed for passing through a saddle ringfixedly positioned on said saddle;

said strap being characterized by a plurality of holes therethrupositioned along its length;

a roller positioned upon said housing in rotating relation therewith;

said roller being characterized by a plurality of protruding axial teethdisposed around its periphery;

said teeth being further disposed to engage said holes in said strap;

a hook fixedly positioned on said second end of said housing;

said hook being disposed for engagement with a cinch ring connecting toan underbelly strap on said horse;

means for rotating said roller thereby causing said teeth to causemovement of said strap, whereby the distance between said saddle ringand said cinch ring maybe varied and the pressure of said saddle and thetension of said underbelly strap on said horse may be adjustedsimultaneously;

means positioned within said housing for engaging positively said teethin a predetermined rotatative position whereby said roller is restrictedfrom free movement;

means for disengaging said teeth from said rotative position to enablefree movement of said roller.

2. The device of claim 1 including spring means positioned within saidhousing;

said spring means being disposed to engage said hook in said housing;

said spring means being further disposed to retain said cinch ring inpositive engagement with said hook.

3. The device of claim 1 including:

a latch member positioned within said housing;

said latch member being disposed to engage said teeth in said roller ina given fixed position;

a release member positioned within said housing and disposed todisengage said latch member from said teeth.

1. A device for use in positioning a saddle on a horse comprising: ahousing positioned on one side of the body of said horse adjacent tosaid saddle; a longitudinal strap, the first end of which is fixedlypositioned on a first end of said housing and the second end of which isdisposed for freely passing through a second end of said housing; saidstrap being further disposed for passing through a saddle ring fixedlypositioned on said saddle; said strap being characterized by a pluralityof holes therethru positioned along its length; a roller positioned uponsaid housing in rotating relation therewith; said roller beingcharacterized by a plurality of protruding axial teeth disposed aroundits periphery; said teeth being further disposed to engage said holes insaid strap; a hook fixedly positioned on said second end of saidhousing; said hook being disposed for engagement with a cinch ringconnecting to an underbelly strap on said horse; means for rotating saidroller thereby causing said teeth to cause movement of said strap,whereby the distance between said saddle ring and said cinch ring may bevaried and the pressure of said saddle and the tension of saidunderbelly strap on said horse may be adjusted simultaneously; meanspositioned within said housing for engaging positively said teeth in apredetermined rotatative position whereby said roller is restricted fromfree movement; means for disengaging said teeth from said rotativeposition to eNable free movement of said roller.
 2. The device of claim1 including spring means positioned within said housing; said springmeans being disposed to engage said hook in said housing; said springmeans being further disposed to retain said cinch ring in positiveengagement with said hook.
 3. The device of claim 1 including: a latchmember positioned within said housing; said latch member being disposedto engage said teeth in said roller in a given fixed position; a releasemember positioned within said housing and disposed to disengage saidlatch member from said teeth.